Introduction
Female make up half of the world’s population and are entitled to the same opportunities as men. However, gender inequality persists globally, with women often experiencing disparities in accessing leadership roles, economic opportunities, and education. Empowering women and girls is crucial to expand economic growth and promote social development.Therefore, it is urgent for society and individuals to tackle this issue.
The objective of this project is to use visualizations to demonstrate the extent of the gender inequality problem on a global scale, focusing on three areas: employment, decision-making, and education. The goal is to increase awareness of gender-based socioeconomic disadvantages and systemic inequality, and inspire actions toward achieving gender equality.
Picture source in introduction: (UN Women Team 2021)
Overview of Gender Imparity
The Gender Inequality Index (GII) measures gender-based disparities in reproductive health, empowerment, and the labor market. It shows the loss in potential human development due to inequality between female and male achievements in these dimensions. The GII ranges from 0 to 1, with 0 indicating gender parity and 1 indicating the worst possible outcomes for one gender across all measured dimensions.(Human Development Reports Team 2021)
The choropleth map displayed above showcases GII values for countries worldwide from 1990 to 2021. The color bar located on the right indicates GII values range between 0 and 1, where lower GII values are represented by cooler colors (blue), and higher GII values are represented by warmer colors (red). The blank spaces on the map indicate missing GII values. The slider located at the bottom can be used to select the year of interest.
The GII values are observed to decrease over time as shown by sliding the time frame using the bottom slider. Though the rate of change is slow, it is evident that progress is being made towards resolving gender issues. Initially, nearly all countries had high GII values represented by dark purple/red color, but towards the end, a significant number of countries exhibit light blue/purple colors indicating positive development. This trend is promising, and we can anticipate further improvement in the near future.
Women’s Challenges in the Workplace
Unequal Pay for Equal Work
The gender pay gap remains a significant issue in our society, as revealed by a radar plot depicting men’s and women’s salaries in various professional fields. The plot uses blue to indicate men’s earnings and red for women’s earnings. By hovering over each dot, the corresponding salary is displayed. The graph highlights that men generally earn more than women across different fields. Across different sectors, there is a consistent pattern of men earning higher salaries than women.
For instance, in the “Science, Technology, and Engineering” sector, men’s average salary is 60k, whereas women receive only 48k, representing an 80% pay gap. In the “Care and Education” sector, where more women work, men’s average salary is 60k, and women receive only 48k, resulting in an 84% wage gap. On average, women earn 84% of what men earn, as seen by the overall difference in salaries.
Burden of Unpaid Work
The UN defines unpaid work as: “activities including food preparation, dishwashing, cleaning and upkeep of the dwelling, laundry, ironing, gardening, caring for pets, shopping, installation, servicing and repair of personal and household goods, childcare, and care of the sick, elderly, or disabled household and family members, among others.” (United Nation Team 2023)
The accompanying scatter plot depicts the differences in time spent by men and women on paid and unpaid work in various countries. Each dot represents a country. On average, women spend around two times as many minutes per day on unpaid domestic work as men, leaving them with less time for paid work, leisure, and personal development. The table demonstrates the data more clearly by country. As we can see, women in India, Turkey and Portugal spend the highest hours per day on the unpaid work comparing with men. This disparity reinforces gender-based socioeconomic disadvantages and perpetuates systemic inequality.(Davies 2020) It is essential to recognize and value the importance of unpaid care work and to implement policies that promote the equal distribution of caregiving responsibilities between genders. One way individuals can contribute to this effort is by sharing household chores with their mothers, sisters, and partners.
Gender Distribution of Employment
The bar plot illustrates the gender distribution of employment in various fields. The data shows that STEM-related fields, such as engineering, computer science, and math, have a significantly higher proportion of male employees, with more than 70% being male. This underrepresentation of women in STEM may be attributed to the systemic discouragement of girls and women from pursuing education and training in science and math. This creates barriers to entry and limits opportunities for women to pursue these fields as adults.(AAUW Team, n.d.)
In contrast, there are fewer women in manual labor, while fields such as community service, healthcare, education, and administration have a higher representation of women. These fields tend to require nurturing, caretaking, and communication skills, which are often stereotypically associated with femininity. Moreover, societal expectations and pressures may also influence women’s career choices, such as the perception that women are naturally suited for caregiving roles.
Underrepresentation of Women in Leadership Roles
The representation of women in decision-making positions worldwide is insufficient. The connected dot plot illustrates the disparity between the number of men and women in upper-level positions in academia, judiciary, and business. Men occupy these positions far more frequently than women in all three fields and in nearly every country. In certain nations, the number of men in high-ranking positions exceeds that of women by six times. However, Esther Duflo indicates that increased gender equality fosters the necessary conditions for economic development and contributes to economic growth, while further development leads to greater gender equality.(Duflo 2012) Advocating for policy change at the national and international levels can help to remove structural barriers that prevent women from accessing decision-making positions. This can include policies such as paid parental leave, flexible work arrangements, and anti-discrimination legislation.
Women in Education
The upper line chart illustrates the Gross Enrollment Gender Parity Index (GPI) for primary and secondary education globally, spanning from the 1970s to the 2020s. GPI serves as an indicator of gender equality in education, reflecting the enrollment ratio of girls to boys in both public and private schools at primary and secondary levels. The data has been sourced from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, gathered through official responses to its annual education survey.
A GPI value below 1 indicates that females face greater disadvantages in accessing educational opportunities compared to males, while a value above 1 suggests the reverse. The chart reveals that GPIs in Africa, Asia, and Oceania have experienced substantial growth since the 1970s, while GPIs in North America, South America, and Europe have remained relatively stable around 1.
The lower bar chart showcases the annual average GPI growth rate for regions in terms of primary and secondary school enrollment over time. It is noteworthy that the education GPI in certain parts of the world, such as South Asia, Southeast Asia, Central Asia, West Asia, and Africa, has been rising at a significantly faster pace compared to North America and Europe, where gender equality has been advocated for a longer period.
Conclusion
Gender inequality persists globally, disproportionately affecting women and girls and resulting in social disadvantages in multiple areas such as economies, education, and leadership. While some countries have made progress in improving gender equality, few have achieved true gender parity. Gender wage disparities, underrepresentation of women in STEM fields, and limited participation in decision-making positions remain significant challenges.
Empowering women is essential for promoting economic growth and social development. National and international policy changes can eliminate structural barriers that hinder women’s access to leadership positions and increase their participation in STEM-related work fields. Improving overall economic conditions can create a virtuous cycle and improve gender equality, leading to greater economic growth and prosperity for all. Therefore, achieving gender equality is not only a moral obligation but also a necessary path to a more just and prosperous society.
Reference
AAUW Team. n.d. “The STEM Gap: Women and Girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.” https://www.aauw.org/resources/research/the-stem-gap/.
Davies, Helen. 2020. “AN UPDATE ON OUR WORK TO VISUALIZE GENDER EQUALITY.” Operation Fistula. https://opfistula.org/an-update-on-our-work-to-visualize-gender-equality/.
Duflo, Esther. 2012. “Women Empowerment and Economic Development.” JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC LITERATURE 50 (4): 1051–79. https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.50.4.1051.
Human Development Reports Team. 2021. “Gender Inequality Index (GII).” https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/thematic-composite-indices/gender-inequality-index#/indicies/GII.
UN Women Team. 2021. “What Does Gender Equality Look Like? Artists Around the World Share Their Vision.” UN Women. https://un-women.medium.com/what-does-gender-equality-look-like-artists-around-the-world-share-their-vision-53015261b00a.
United Nation Team. 2023. “SDG Indicator Metadata.” United Nations Statistics Division. https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/files/Metadata-05-04-01.pdf.
Theme by Brian Tarran